Mr. Cain: What did you learn from researching the Rodney King case?

Student: I learned about this history of police violence in Los Angeles and I learned about how the LAPD
has historically oppressed people of color through violence measures. I also learned that Rodney King’s
beating was caught on tape but that it didn’t matter to the jury. The jury didn’t have any black people on
it and they found all four officers not guilty. This made the black community in LA mad and they rioted.

MC: Where was the trial held? Did you learn about that?

S: The trial was held in Simi Valley, CA.

MC: What does that matter?

S: It matters because Simi Valley is about half an hour from Los Angeles and is a mostly white, middle
class community. Many of the officers on the LAPD lived in Simi Valley. It was unfair to move the trail
there.

MC: Do you think the location of the trial impacted the decision by the jury?

S: Yes! The jury was not a jury of Rodney King’s peers because there were no black people on the jury.

MC: What happened after the verdict?

S: People were angry and they rioted.

MC: Do you think that the problems that existed then still exist today?

S: Yes, because black people are still getting killed by the police and the police don’t ever go to jail.

MC: What do you think we should do about it? What can we do about it?

S: I think we should do another letter writing campaign, but to someone different this time.

MC: You do? Who should it be? President Trump? Senator Ted Cruz?

S: I think Ted Cruz. He’s our Senator from Texas so we should write to him, Mr. Cain.

MC: Why should we write letters to Senator Cruz? What will that accomplish?

S: It will make our voices heard. We have to fight for justice, we have to fight for the right thing. If we
write letters to the Senator then he will know that we can’t take the police killing us [people of color]
any more.